American Dream
by Raye of the Sunshine
Summary: For RokuNami Day 2018. Cross-posted on ao3. Roxas is a singer in a band, and Naminé goes to his shows. Uses music and lyrics, but not necessarily a songfic. 2k words.


For RokuNami Day 2018.

Disclaimer: Jesse McCartney's songs are used. I also didn't make up the other songs in here. Seriously, Lost Stars is my jam. LOOK THEM UP!

* * *

Roxas got up on stage and scanned the crowd. It was a small bar tonight, but that was fine. The stadiums and enormous crowds would come later; he knew they would. Besides, it was a favor from his brother, Sora, who worked the sound equipment for bands and singers at this bar, so Roxas wasn't about to complain. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Axel and Demyx putting on their guitars; Hayner settled at the drumset behind them, prepared for the show they were about to put on.

But Roxas wasn't paying attention to them. No, he was searching. _Come on… where is she… She's always there,_ _ **always**_ _, she wouldn't miss this, would she?_ A grin came to his face when he finally spotted her. _There!_

The girl in question always wore white, making it easy to spot her in a dark room like this. Her soft blonde hair framed her face, and when the light hit her just right, it made her look as if she were glowing. She threaded her way through the crowd up front, and Roxas followed her path. He didn't know her name; she never came up to talk to him once their performance was done, and he didn't recognize her from any of the band's followers on social media. Tonight, however, he was going to make that change. After all, if she had come to every performance he had in the city in the last two months, how could he not thank her? How could he not want to talk to her?

"Hey guys!" he greeted, earning some cheers and claps. "Hope you're ready for some fun tonight. Let's hear it for Lost Stars!" The previous band hollered in appreciation, and again the crowd cheered and clapped for them. "All right, this first song is an oldie but a goodie. We're sure that many of you already know it."

The smile that came to her face encouraged him. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, however, really made him want the opening lyrics to be perfect. _"I don't want another pretty face…"_ An excited cry from the audience surged through him, making him grasp the microphone and get out from behind the piano. He could hear some of them singing along; his heart beat with the happy adrenaline. _This_ was why he did music.

 _She_ was singing along too. Roxas knelt in front of her and reached out his hand. When she grasped it, his heart skipped a beat, unlike all the times before when he did this. _"I want you and your beautiful soul,"_ he sang, and for the first time felt he had a face to attach to this song. _You're beautiful,_ he thought, hearing her sing the finishing lines with him and listening to her light voice, _and I'm sure you've got a beautiful soul, too._

* * *

"Hey!" _Don't leave! Please, I want to know your name!_

She looked over her shoulder, her hand on the door handle. "Yes?" she asked, and he was stunned by her voice.

"Uh." He flushed and instantly hoped it would be blamed on the performance he just did. "It's just—what's your name?" _Smooth. Real smooth._

She turned around completely and came closer to him, ignoring the security by the entrance. "My name is Naminé," she said. "Hello, Roxas."

"Hi." _Wait. No, this is stupid._ "I heard you singing along. You like the music, then?"

Naminé's smile lit up her face, just as she had when he opened the song. "I love your music!" she gushed. "You're so versatile; I love it when you sing and play on the piano!" She fumbled with her purse, grasping her phone and swiping at it. Then she lifted it up to him and he realized she had recorded some of "Move" when he heard himself sing: _"I tried to move the stars for you, with all my love… tried to take away your pain, but I'm not enough..."_

"Ah, yeah, that song is really—" What could he say about that?

"It breaks my heart every time," she whispered, putting her phone away. "I love your music; it really strikes you in the heart, no matter what it is."

"Thank you." Roxas struggled to think of what to say next, before she took his silence as a sign to leave. "We're going on tour," he said at last, barely avoiding it becoming awkward. "Nashville, New York, L.A. Maybe Chicago and Kansas City, too."

Naminé splayed her fingers in front of her chest. "Maybe I'll be in the crowd, then," she said, and he realized she was _teasing_.

"You haven't missed a show yet," he pointed out with a cocky grin.

"Hey, Roxas! Roxas, we gotta get back—" Hayner's voice made him jump, causing the pair of them to turn around and see the drummer come their way. "Oh, hey there," he said, grinning at Naminé. "Hope you enjoyed it!"

"I did," she promised warmly. "You all sing and play so well." Her blue eyes flickered back up to Roxas. "I'd better go… See you."

Before he could stop her, she headed out, and before he could go after her— _how_ was he talking to her this entire time _without getting her number_?—Hayner pulled him backstage so they could go over their performance.

* * *

Habit had him scanning the crowd for Naminé. Considering they were on the other side of the country, he didn't expect her to be there, and how would she know to enter the side room from the bar area? She hadn't been there when they were in—well, a number of cities. The tour had been an amazing experience so far, but it still felt like something was _missing_ when he didn't see her make her way calmly through the crowds. The first time it happened, when they went to New York City, he felt bereft and almost missed the cue for the opening song.

 _It's hopeless; I don't even have her number so what's the point in looking—huh?_ Naminé was there! Right there, gliding through the audience like she did this every day. He hadn't seen her in two months; he noticed that she wore white again, a white jacket this time, since she wore a shirt with his band's name on it. Roxas blinked. _She… she's wearing my shirt. The band's shirt._ _ **My shirt**_ _._ He hadn't even seen her buy it; when had she bought it? He and the others usually helped man the tables they set up with their merchandise after the show. _Must've been some other time then… But she's wearing it!_ "Wow," he breathed, still staring straight at her.

"Ooh, a girl?" Hayner teased from behind him, laughing when Roxas jumped. "So am I wrong?" The other blond looked out to catch a glimpse at who his friend had been blatantly staring at, and his expression changed when he did. "Hey, it's that Naminé girl. She must be dedicated if she came all this way to L.A."

"Maybe, but she wasn't there for any of the others the last two months," Roxas pointed out, feeling a little sullen at the memory.

"Relax, Rox," Axel butted in. "It _does_ cost money to do this, so she probably didn't have the chance to go to the others."

"Right, whatever. Let's get this show on the road!" Roxas grabbed the microphone, signalling for the others to get into their places. "This one's for you, L.A.!" he shouted, garnering cheers. _"Once upon a time, babe, I was color-blinded…"_

The rush of excitement surged through their audience. It didn't take long for his brother, Sora to ramp up the action below by throwing himself at the stage. If he didn't know his twin so well, Roxas would've laughed, either out of amusement or shame, but instead he carried on with the performance and pretended his brother was _not_ acting like a rabid fan girl. He noticed Kairi there as well, and Riku after a time. Sora hadn't said anything about either one coming, so they were almost as big a surprise as seeing Naminé again. Was there anyone else hiding in the crowd he knew who didn't tell him?

As soon as it was over, Roxas jumped down to greet their fans. Several came clamoring up to tell him they enjoyed it; he grinned and signed some autographs for the few who asked. Their band was really starting off! The thought almost made him miss the last cluster of people waiting to speak to him. "Roxas!"

"Sora!" He fist bumped his brother and nodded to Riku. "Hey Riku, Kairi." To Kairi he gave a hug, which she returned enthusiastically.

"Roxas, your music is awesome!" she cheered. "I'm only sorry I didn't come see a show sooner."

"Yeah, what brings you guys here? Not that we don't appreciate it, I just would've thought you'd come to something back home."

Kairi ducked her head. "My sister, Naminé, see—"

"Naminé's your sister?" he interrupted. "What? How come I never knew?"

"You never asked," she replied, and he wanted to hit his head against the wall.

"Where is she?"

"She was right with us—"

Again, Kairi was interrupted, this time by a voice at Roxas's right side. "I'm here."

"Naminé!" Roxas wasn't sure how to greet her. "You're… you're here." _I really need to stop sounding stupid around her._ Everything felt hot all of a sudden, even though he had dealt with the stage lights for nearly an hour just fine.

"I am," she said, smiling that beautiful, soft smile at him. "I wanted to see you on tour, so I convinced my sister to come on vacation with me. Riku and Sora came along for more fun… and because Kairi doesn't like being away from her boyfriend for too long."

Roxas almost made a face at the image of Sora and Kairi getting annoying when they were apart. His brother hadn't been able to ask off work for the entire tour, only this weekend, which explained why Roxas hadn't had to deal with any complaints and inattentiveness due to being glued to his phone. He wanted to talk to her, alone, but couldn't quite signal to the others to leave.

Thankfully, he didn't have to, as Kairi saw the other three come out and jump to say hi to them as well. Relieved they were alone—or as alone a pair could get in a bar—he focused his attention on Naminé. "I'm glad you came," he told her quietly.

"Me too."

He wasn't going to miss his chance again. "Can I have your number?"

Her smile widened and she pulled her phone out. "I was hoping you might ask. Swap?"

"Oh, yeah!" His hands trembled a little as he typed his number into her cell phone. "So… what made you become interested in us?" he asked as he handed it back.

Naminé pressed her fingers together. "I saw an ad online for a show of yours. I didn't have anything else to do that night, so I decided to go. Kairi knew you through Sora, so I thought it might be interesting." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm glad I did; I listen to your music all the time now. It's beautiful, fun, and catchy."

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it so much; I hope that means something good for us."

She reached over and grasped his hands. "With the way you write music, I _know_ you will."

* * *

Roxas stepped out onto the stage confidently. This was the biggest venue they had yet, and he was excited. Tonight they'd be debuting a new song, too. He searched the crowd, easily spotting Naminé, who was already at the front and waving when she saw she had his attention.

"You ready?" he called out, earning cheers. "This song's a new song," he began, "and it's about finding that one special person." He locked eyes with Naminé and winked, causing her to laugh. "It's dedicated to _my_ special person."

 _Oh I've been singing in Nashville, New York, and L.A._

 _Hoping you'd be in the crowd someday_

 _Yes I've been dreaming in Nashville, New York, and L.A._

 _Hoping you'd be in my arms someday_

 _Whoa_

' _Cause you're all I need_

 _From sea to shining sea_

 _Yeah you set me free_

 _You're my American Dream_

 _American Dream_

* * *

Happy RokuNami Day! I wrote this using twilightpromise's prompt "Your love is a song." It's been a long time since I've written RokuNami, and usually I like to write something a little more canon. But I couldn't help myself, and used this rather popular AU instead. This is a tribute to Jesse but also to my childhood friend Damian, who is the lead singer of Lost Stars. (he'll never read this though, lol) The songs "Move" and "American Dream" are his. It was, obviously, "American Dream" that drove this fic. Hope you liked!


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